The Independent Police Complaints Commission is helping the Metropolitan Police to check piles of files and reports – amid claims a confidential report compiled by the force’s anti-corruption command was not disclosed to the panel of the 1998 Macpherson inquiry.

Some of the allegations centre on a former Met Commander’s relationship with M25 killer Kenneth Noye.

No criminal or misconduct charges were brought as a result of a previous internal investigation at Scotland Yard.

It has also been claimed that another Scotland Yard officer, who interviewed the suspects following Stephen’s killing, had links to Clifford Norris.

A Metropolitan Police statement said: “The Directorate of Professional Standards has reviewed a considerable number of files and reports dating back to the 1980s as well as conducting interviews with a number of key individuals involved in the original investigation into both Stephen Lawrence’s murder and police corruption.”

The involvement of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the review comes after the teenager’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, called for the reopening of the major public inquiry into the circumstances of the racist murder.

“We have retrieved a number of key documents, which greatly assist in understanding what material was available to the Macpherson inquiry and are now in the process of sharing our findings with the Independent Police Complaints Commission so that they can review it in the light of their previous involvement in the case,” a spokesman said.

David Norris and Gary Dobson were convicted of Stephen’s murder in January - 19 years after the crime - and sentenced to life at the Old Bailey.

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